Pakistan

Nawaz puts opposition in same league as terrorists

PM inaugurates 393-km long Sukkur-Multan motorway worth Rs294b

Sarfaraz Memon/APP May 06, 2016

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. PHOTO: NNI/FILE

SUKKUR:

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif compared on Friday his opponents with terrorists pursuing politics of agitation, accusing them of blocking the country’s path to development.

“They (political opponents) wish to sabotage and divert the government’s attention from development. The people of Pakistan have given us their mandate and with Allah’s help, we will complete our tenure,” Nawaz said with a tone of defiance as he addressed a large gathering of party leaders and workers near Rohri by-pass, some 10 kilometres from Sukkur after unveiling the Rs294 billion Sukkur-Multan section of the motorway on Friday afternoon.

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He said terrorists wanted to disrupt, sow chaos, and cause law and order situation, pushing Pakistan back to the dark ages.

“A similar objective was being pursued by those who stage sit-ins, cause agitation and hinder country’s march ahead,” the premier said pointedly.

Nawaz and his government have been under pressure from the opposition to resign and probe allegations of corruption ever since thousands of documents were leaked in early April from Panamanian law firm Mossack Foncesca. The documents show how the prime minister’s family, including three scions, along with some of the world’s most powerful people, had secreted away their money in offshore holdings.

While the premier has maintained his innocence, pointing to past anti-corruption probes in which no wrongdoing was found, he bowed to the opposition’s demand of creating a judicial commission to probe the offshore accounts.

Without naming the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Nawaz said that had there been no dharna, the Sukkur-Multan motorway would have started much earlier. He also lamented how his ambitious development plans for regional connectivity were interrupted during the 1990s.

“I dreamt about constructing motorways back in 1990 and started materialising it, but what happened in 1999, the process of developing Pakistan stopped,” Nawaz said while referring to the 1999 coup by former dictator General Pervez Musharraf. “Pakistan would have been turned into a great country by now.”

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He added that after returning to power in 2013, he sought to resume those projects but his opponents were against these projects.

“[Syed] Khursheed Shah sahab, we are building a bridge in your area, while you are demanding my resignation,” Nawaz said while referring to Leader of the Opposition in National Assembly who was elected from NA-199 Sukkur.

Shah’s Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the PTI have been at the forefront of demanding Nawaz’s resignation over the Panama Papers.

Nawaz reiterated that he had not pilfered a single cent from the exchequer in his nine years in government, adding that even Musharraf was not able to prove corruption charges against him.

Referring to his government’s achievements, Nawaz said the law and order situation in the country and Karachi in particular had improved.

He further claimed that power and gas load-shedding have reduced considerably with tariffs down by 30%, and vowed that it would be eliminated by 2018.

Claiming that he was not afraid of anybody, Nawaz said he tried his best to strengthen the country’s defence hence his government proceeded with the nuclear tests in 1998.

Earlier, Nawaz broke ground for the 393-km long Sukkur-Multan highway. Starting from Multan, the six-lane motorway will pass through Jalalpur Peerwala, Ahmed Pur East, Ubaro, Pano Aqil before terminating at Sukkur. It will comprise 54 bridges including one major bridge on River Sutlej, 12 service areas, 10 rest areas, 11 interchanges, 10 flyovers and 426 underpasses.

Noting that the project was part of the multi-billion dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), he added that work on the 296 km long Sukkur-Hyderabad motorway will also start soon.

The prime minister also announced construction of a new bridge on River Indus worth Rs6.5 billion which would replace the 125-year old Lance Downe bridge which will now be conserved.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 7^th, 2016.

COMMENTS (6)

Rex Minor | 8 years ago | Reply @lkhan: Pakistan could afford to pay for all the F16s it requires by bringing back this stolen wealth, Too throw in hospitals, clean water, schools and more. After all, this money is the nation’s and for nation building.But then, these halfwit politicians run te country as their own property. You Sir have decoded the American message; the NSA has the complete knowledge of the analogue poiticians activities in the underworld.. Rex Minor

Shahid Akram | 8 years ago | Reply Pakistani leaders speak without thinking.

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Ali S | 8 years ago | Reply 294 billion rupees for a motorway linking interior Sindh to a small city of southern Punjab? That's an outrageous waste of national financial reserves and pure idiocy from an economic perspective (unless of course, the PM and his minions can skim a healthy amount off it to make up for whatever loss the Panama leaks may cause). To put things in perspective, we're talking about $2.9 BILLION DOLLARS! For comparison, Burj Khalifa was built for $1.5 billion dollars and it gives back far more to the economy. Were the PM a bit more intelligent and concerned for Pakistan's wellbeing, he could have fixed all of interior Sindh and southern Punjab's primary schools and trained teachers for much less than that amount.

Javed Mirani | 8 years ago | Reply If a person doesn't believe in the rights to protest peacefully, which is basic democratic right the. That person looses the right to hold public office.

Salman | 8 years ago | Reply Is this the best use of Rs 294 Billion ???? What will happen if the MULTAN-SUKKAR motorway is not built ??? The world will stop? This is the ridiculous spending of money by this stupid government. Pakistan could have developed Kala bagh dam or at least 4 smaller dams with this Rs 294 billion + Rs 300 Billion from Orange train + Rs 300 billion from Multan metro bus. This government is pathetic to the core. Industry needs electricity and energy first.

lkhan | 8 years ago | Reply What the PM refuses to acknowledge is the reality of the Panama Papers, or answer a few very simple questions of how such wealth was acquired by minor children. Instead as Don Quijote, he imagines wind mills to be enemies, and loses all common sense, decency, and sense of FairPlay in politics. After the arrest of the finance secretary in Balochistan, we see how those in government enrich ruthlessly. With unlimited ill gotten wealth, naturally real estates in foreign capitals, and off shores come into the picture..... Pakistan could afford to pay for all the F16s it requires by bringing back this stolen wealth, Too throw in hospitals, clean water, schools and more. After all, this money is the nation's and for nation building.But then, these halfwit politicians run the country as their own property. Time they be taught a lesson or two about the constitution, and why they have been elected in the first place. Sick of the substance-less speeches of the PM and his Durbar... never better said, give that to IK.

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